The 2014 Civil Grand Jury
report, “Education: A ‘No Excuses’ Approach to English Language Learning in
Monterey County,” spotlights the importance for Monterey County English
Learners to become proficient in English and able to read on grade level by
third grade. This is true for all students. We appreciate the call to action of
the Civil Grand Jury report because all of our students need and deserve a high
quality education. The report helps bring to everyone’s attention the sense of
urgency around the importance of English Learners attaining proficiency. This
is a strategic priority of the Monterey County Office of Education.
Achieving this goal is very
complex and involves roles for the family, the school and the community.
Unfortunately, this year’s Civil Grand Jury’s report findings and
recommendations place the sole responsibility on MCOE and misrepresents the
roles and work of the county Office of Education, the county superintendent and
the county Board of Education. Although the county office plays a key
leadership role in supporting the school districts and is always striving to do
better, the “no excuses” that the Civil Grand Jury calls for must go far beyond
the county Office of Education.
MCOE realizes the importance of
our role in providing high quality professional development opportunities and
technical assistance to school districts to support them in what is needed for
their English Learners to achieve advanced levels of English proficiency. While
the county superintendent and county Board of Education have no authority over
the quality and successful implementation of the districts’ instructional
programs, MCOE is responsible for providing effective leadership and services
to school districts to support their work. Each school district’s Board of
Trustees is entrusted with and responsible for their district’s educational
programs and engagement of their families and communities. The only student
programs MCOE operates directly are those that are more cost effective and
efficient when provided at the county level: Juvenile Hall and Youth Center for
incarcerated students, community schools for expelled students, Head Start, and
supplemental Migrant Education programs. For these programs, MCOE is directly
responsible for the English Language development of these students.
The school districts, not MCOE,
directly receive base funding from the state for all students, and for 2015-16
will receive $131,776,426 in supplemental and concentration grants specifically
to serve English Learners, socioeconomically disadvantaged students, and foster
youth. The school districts’ Local Control Accountability Plans must identify
how they are using their funds to meet the needs of English Learners. The
county superintendent supports the districts in developing their plans and is
responsible for approving them following statutory guidelines. It is the
district’s responsibility to implement their plan.
It is important to clarify what
is entailed in the complex work that is required for a student to acquire
advanced levels of English proficiency. The California English Language
Development Test is the state’s test used to assess reading, writing, listening
and speaking. There are five levels of proficiency through which a child must
progress: beginning, early intermediate, intermediate, early advanced and
advanced. English Learner kindergartners who make swift progress through these
levels are typically literate in their primary language and have a wide range
of life experiences for their age. Their background knowledge and experiences
well prepare them to quickly acquire a second language. However, by third
grade, only 24 percent of Monterey County’s English Learners have reached the
advanced levels, compared to 31 percent in California.
What’s the problem? Monterey
County has more than twice the number (36 percent) of kindergarten English Learners
at the beginning level of English proficiency than its counterparts in
California (16 percent). The problem is that most of our English Learners face
the major obstacles of having low levels of proficiency in their primary
language, low levels of parent education, minimal exposure to English outside
the time they are in school, and constraints of poverty that limit expanding
the life experiences needed to build essential background knowledge. These are
facts, not excuses. The children facing these challenges make steady progress,
but it is not enough, and it takes comprehensive engagement of the family,
school and community in order to accelerate their path to the advanced levels
of English proficiency. In successful schools this is happening.
It is important to acknowledge
that Monterey County English Learners are keeping pace and sometimes surpassing
the state average. For example, one of the most important measurements of
English Learners’ success is when they reach the milestone of being proficient
in English, known as Reclassification to English Learner Proficiency. In
Monterey County, the percentage of English Learners who have reclassified to
fluent is at 22.6 percent, higher than the state average of 20.5 percent. In
fact, Monterey County represents the top 10 of the 58 counties in California,
with the highest percentage of students reclassified to English proficient.
Two additional, critical
indicators are the percentage of English Learners who drop out and the number
who graduate from high school. In Monterey County, the percentage of English
Learners who drop out is 20.2 percent, compared to the statewide average of
20.9 percent. Further, English Learners are graduating at the same rate (65.4
percent) as their peers across California (65.3 percent), despite significantly
greater obstacles. While we are keeping pace with the state, these results must
be dramatically improved.
It is critical to accelerate
the progress English Learners make in their acquisition of English proficiency
and $131,776,426 is now in the hands of our school districts for making the
dramatic improvements that are needed. With great anticipation, MCOE is
launching the 2015-16 school year with a combination of customized services
specific to each district’s needs and a high caliber professional development
series for teachers and administrators. Our year-long series on the most
effective research based instructional practices for English Learners will be
presented by renowned experts in English language development.
We are in an exciting new era
for public education. Today’s world and economic conditions call for all of us
to engage more deeply in supporting our schools and students as together we
prepare them for their future. All students, including English learners, require
support from their family, their school and their community.
All kids are our kids, and it
takes all of us working together to prepare them for success at each step of
their educational journey.
June
12, 2015
The
Salinas Californian
By
Nancy Kotowski, PhD. She is Monterey County Superintendent of Schools.
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